Record of 235 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in 2021: UN

A record 235 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance next year, a nearly 40% increase from 2020 which is “almost entirely from COVID-19,” the UN said on Tuesday.

In an appeal for US $ 35 billion to meet humanitarian needs next year, Mark Lowcock, head of United Nations emergency relief, said the global health crisis has caused people to falter with conflict, levels of displacement and the shocks of climate change, adding that famines loom.

This year’s global humanitarian overview sets out plans “to reach the 160 million most vulnerable people in 56 countries,” Lowcock said.

He noted that while richer countries had invested large sums to avoid the economic disaster from the COVID-induced collapse and could now see “the light at the end of the tunnel,” the situation in relatively poor countries may not be the same.

He said funding is needed to “avoid famine, fight poverty and keep children vaccinated and in school.”

Lowcock also highlighted how climate change and rising global temperatures have further contributed to the gloomy outlook for humanitarian needs in 2021: humanitarian agencies have had a huge amount of work to do in countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. .

The UN relief chief pointed out “new spikes of conflict in places that were previously more peaceful”, including Nagorno-Karabakh, northern Mozambique, Western Sahara and northern Ethiopia.

In addition to providing the means to help communities in crisis, Lowcock emphasized the focus of the UN appeal on preventative action.

This included an injection of money to the World Health Organization in February at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, to ensure that poorer countries could receive protective gear to deal with COVID-19.

Likewise, tens of thousands of potential flood victims in Bangladesh also received “support and money” in good time so that they could protect their assets and livelihoods.

However, the UN official stressed that the scale of the challenges that humanitarian workers will face next year are huge and growing. “If we get through 2021 without major famines, it will be a significant achievement,” he said.